Ghanaian journalist Eric Nana Gyetuah assaulted after photographing police

Ghanaian authorities should swiftly identify and hold to account the police officers who attacked journalist Eric Nana Gyetuah, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. At about 1:30 p.m. on February 3, in the western city of Takoradi, a group of at least five police officers in plain clothes attacked Gyetuah, a program producer with the privately owned broadcaster Connect FM, according to reports by Connect FM’s affiliated news website 3news.com and a journalist familiar with the incident who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. Gyetuah photographed the officers while they sat in…Read more

Unidentified men attack residence of Sri Lankan journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrama

Sri Lankan authorities must conduct an immediate and impartial investigation into the attack on the residence of journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrama, release the findings to the public, and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Around 2 a.m. Monday morning, at least three unidentified armed men arrived at the residence of Samarawickrama, a reporter for the privately owned television channel Hiru TV and host of a YouTube-based talk show Truth With Chamuditha, in the Piliyandala suburb of Colombo, according to multiple news reports, which cited Samarawickrama, security personnel on duty at…Read more

Indian journalist Rohit Biswal killed in bombing while covering Maoist rebels

Authorities in the Indian state of Odisha must thoroughly investigate the death of journalist Rohit Biswal, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that members of the press can cover security issues safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Saturday, February 5, Biswal was reporting from Odisha’s Kalahandi district when an improvised explosive device detonated, killing him at the scene, according to multiple news reports. Biswal, a reporter with the local Odia-language newspaper Dharitri, was photographing posters put up by Maoist rebels asking residents to boycott upcoming local elections when he was killed, according to…Read more

South African exhibition for former Trustee’s wife

To celebrate the life of her late husband Brian Nicholson CBE for the Commonwealth Press Union, Henrietta Nicholson is holding a private view of the exhibition of her paintings on Thursday 10 March from 5pm to 8pm at the Cellars-Hohenhort Hotel, 93 Bromersvlei Road, Constantia Heights, Cape Town 7806. The paintings reflect her time in South Africa, India and living in Glyndebourne in the United Kingdom.  Henrietta would be delighted to meet you and show you her work. Read more

New date announced for Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)

The President of the Republic of Rwanda, and Commonwealth Secretary-General have announced the week of 20 June 2022 as the new date agreed with member countries for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). CHOGM was due to have been held in Kigali in June 2020 but has been postponed twice due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. CHOGM is customarily held every two years and is the Commonwealth’s highest consultative and policy-making gathering. Commonwealth leaders selected Rwanda as host for their next summit when they met in London in 2018.Read more

Indian government suspends MediaOne TV for unspecified ‘security reasons’

Indian authorities should allow the Malayalam-language news channel MediaOne TV to operate freely, and should not suspend broadcasters over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. At about 12:30 p.m. on Monday, MediaOne TV ceased broadcasting after it received a suspension notice via email, according to the outlet’s editor, Pramod Raman, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting suspended the broadcaster for unspecified “security reasons” and because it allegedly had not been granted a security clearance by the Home Ministry during its license renewal,…Read more

Indian journalist Rana Ayyub receives rape, death threats

Indian authorities must immediately conduct a swift and thorough investigation into threats made to Mumbai-based Washington Post columnist and freelance journalist Rana Ayyub, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Ayyub, who has long been a victim of online trolling and threats, told CPJ that she began receiving an onslaught of threats on Twitter after she tweeted her criticism of the Saudi Arabia government’s role in the ongoing Yemen war on January 22. Since then, she has received over 26,000 tweets in response, including many rape and death threats, from social media users who posted in support of the Saudi…Read more

Pakistani journalist Hasnain Shah shot and killed outside Lahore Press Club

Pakistan authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Hasnain Shah and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. On Monday, January 24, two unidentified people on a motorcycle shot and killed Shah, a senior crime reporter for the privately owned news channel Capital TV and a council member of the Lahore Press Club, according to multiple news reports and a report by Capital TV. Shah was sitting in his car at a traffic light outside the press club, a professional journalists’ association, when two masked…Read more

Attacks on the press: The deadliest countries in 2021

At least 27 journalists were killed due to their work in 2021, with India and Mexico topping the list of countries with the most media worker deaths, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ final data for the year. Of the total – which has risen by three since the publication of CPJ’s December 9 report on attacks on the press – 21 were singled out for murder in retaliation for their reporting. Four more were killed while reporting from conflict zones, and two others were killed covering protests or street clashes that turned deadly. CPJ is still investigating the…Read more

Bangladeshi camera operator Hossain Baksh abducted, severely beaten while covering local elections

Bangladesh authorities must conduct a swift and impartial investigation into the abduction and beating of Hossain Baksh and take steps to protect the safety of journalists covering union council elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At approximately 6:45 a.m. on January 5, Hossain Baksh, a camera operator for the privately owned news channel ATN News, was abducted and severely beaten, allegedly upon the order of Asad Ali, the then-ruling Awami League-nominated chairperson candidate for a local union council election, in the Madhabpur upazila, or sub-district, of the Kamalganj upazila in the…Read more